Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed he will attend the UN General Assembly in New York this autumn, despite the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, threatening to arrest him on a warrant from the International Criminal Court.
After Mamdani walked back the ultimatum last week, acknowledging he lacked the legal power to enforce an ICC arrest warrant, Netanyahu dismissed the threat as irrelevant. He accused the mayor of “fomenting hate,” calling the mayor’s rhetoric divisive and stating that he was not concerned about the former pledge.
During a Fox News interview, Netanyahu said he would still travel to the United States for a different visit, and planned to meet President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday, in addition to attending a memorial for former Senator Lindsey Graham. New York was not on his itinerary for that trip.
The Prime Minister also voiced worries over recent stabbings in New York, where a suspect targeted a Jewish man and an Asian man and shouted “Allahu akbar” before the attacks. Netanyahu said that Jewish New Yorkers were “afraid right now,” hinting that the city’s tensions were growing.
Mamdani, a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, had used his new power as mayor to call Netanyahu a “war criminal” and promised to enforce a 2024 arrest warrant for the Prime Minister, accusations Israel has denied and called “bogus.” The mayor’s office has not yet replied to reporters’ request for comment.
